Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thought I'd share my new system with the group. I had an IBC set-up in the garage for three months but it was plagued with problems. It wasn't getting the light it needed and my irrigation design left much to be desired. The last straw was when I had an aphid infestation (yes I know what you're thinking: how did I get an infestation in the garage?) attacking my already weak and sun-starved seedlings. I decided to move my system outdoors at this point.

Here's the run down of my new system that's been up and running for a couple of weeks.

Greenhouse - 6' X 8'
IBC tank - bottom set up as FT ~ 150 gallons and top set up as flood and drain GB ~ 150 liters of hydroton
2 smaller flood and drain GBs - ~50 liters of hydroton each
1/4 HP utility/sump pump
2 koi ~ 8-10"
4 jumbo goldfish ~ 4" each
A couple dozen feeder guppies ~2" and smaller

Here's a few close-up pictures:

Nice greenhouse! A family of lady bugs would keep aphids under control in there.

Thanks Faye: I plan to use ladybugs or organic soap next time I get an infestation. I already made the mistake of trying to make my own oil based soap. Ended up not diluting with enough water. Killed the buggers but also lost some plants in the process . My tomato plant is still recovering.

Be warned- soap and oil do not mix well with fish. I know you can use it as a foliar spray but you would really want to be sure that it did not contaminate the fish tank. (IMHO In my humble opinion)

Thanks - I'm here to learn from more experienced people like yourself. I've learned my lesson from the oil - thankfully my fish survived but I still think I should stay away from it all together judging from what happened from my first experience. Now that I have a greenhouse as opposed to my garage, I'll be more inclined to use predatory/beneficial insects.

After reading through some of the other threads I decided to add some red wigglers to the beds and do another foliar spray of compost tea. I've been using compost tea for a couple weeks now with all my plants. Let's see how it turns out.

Bad news. The aphids have returned It seems that the ants are farming them. Are ants intelligent enough to bring aphids into a new system; meaning would they bring in ants from the outside in or do they work with existing aphids?

I'm contemplating using ladybugs as Faye suggested but I'm concerned that I don't have enough "food" aka aphids for the ladybugs to eat as it is a fairly new infestation. I wouldn't want to starve the poor bug, ladybugs that is.

I do have some insecticide soap as a last resort. I bought Safe brand soap which is OMRI certified organic and the soap is actually derived from plant matter according to my readings.

Any suggestions? Do I shell out some dough for the ladybugs and risk starving them or do I chance it and use the soap?

I've recently had good luck with using a small Paint Brush to brush aphids off of the tender plant parts and under the leaf's into a wet dish, and then feed them to the baby gold fish........

they think it's a treat.....

a bit time consuming, but finely something that aphid's are good for......

Thanks for the suggestion but I like you said it is rather time consuming. I just bought a small container of ladybugs from a local garden store. I released a couple hundred in the greenhouse. As for the rest, I plan on keeping them nice and fed in an insect friendly container until I (or someone else needs them again). I here that you can feed them moistened raisins, strawberries, and sugar water while you have them in "storage". I'll see if my neighbor can use some... he's got an unprecedented aphid infestation although I don't think he realizes it yet. He gave me some mint clippings whose leaves were covered with aphids on the underside.

In a greenhouse you probably have to put a little more effort into controlling pests but I've kinda given up trying to control aphids, especially ones being farmed by ants. (I'm not willing to use the chemicals I would need in order to control the ants and none of the non chemical methods seem effective or appropriate in the aquaponic situation.) Perhaps I loose some productivity from the plants but they are still producing (mainly peppers and okra having problems with the ants farming aphids.)

As the system matures and now that your plants have better light, I expect you will find the plants will be better able to survive the pests.

Stop the ants and you dramatically reduce aphid problems. If ants get into a growbed, fully flood it for a few hours until all the ants are gone. Return growbed to normal operation, then put ant dust all around underneath the beds. Be careful not to get any dust near the fish tank water.

Without realizing that they are toxic, I put some ant stakes around the perimeter of the greenhouse. I didn't see any ants today and I'm hoping that the ladybugs will take care of the rest of the aphids. I'd take your advice on the ant dust, but my main GB is situated right above my FT. A little too close for comfort for my tastes

I'm going to take TC's advice and try not to stress too much over a few bugs... it'll be a challenge for me but we'll see how it goes.

GH temps reached close to 90 deg F today. This was with two fans running on full blast and both vents fully open. I've got some burlap that I was going to use as shade cloth but I reckon it would pose a fire hazard. Anyone know of affordable/cheap shading material?

Hi Nax,

I was recently reading somewhere that some common shade cloths can have a reaction with polycarbonate. As I recall it was some synthetic material, you may want to check with your supplier.

FWIW I'm using a cotton dropcloth that I grabbed at the hardware store, it's a bit too thick but it's only covering part of the roof. The peak is covered with styrofoam. I considered that the cotton might be a fire hazard, but I don't think it gets as hot where I live, and I made the panels in such a way that I can easily remove it and bolt on something else if I have to. It's stretched over a wood frame so only the frame is in direct contact with the polycarbonate; maybe that would address your fire hazard concern?. I also considered shower curtains. My wife bought a natural fibre shower curtain; I never did get the chance to check the price.

other options I might look into:

hemp or other natural fibre
multiple layers of burlap
thinner cotton sheets
non toxic water soluable white paint

I also temporarily threw up some semi transparent blue plastic sheets that my styrofoam came in; I'm not sure blue is the best colour for plant growth but they really seem to block the heat while still letting some light through. I wonder if you could use white garbage bags over a frame in a pinch?